Opportunities for Federal Funding

The key in developing a strategy to fund health IT is to make sure that all opportunities are investigated. It is important to look regularly for community, State and Federal funding opportunities online and to sign up for email alerts for announcements of grant programs offered by major foundations. On a National level, several agencies, associations and foundations including the eHealth Initiative, the Health Information Management Systems Society, AHRQ and, of course, HRSA provide excellent coverage of upcoming loan and grant opportunities.

Additionally, given the current Federal and State emphasis on health IT adoption as a means to reduce overall cost to the health care system and improve quality, there is a fairly steady stream of Federal opportunities for pursuing grants in this area. Federal grant opportunities are expected to be available for at least the next several years. It is important that health centers, other safety net providers and ambulatory care providers that are thinking about health IT stay on top of these opportunities. While some re-allocation of resources and investment at the health center level is important, most safety net providers that have implemented health IT rely largely on federal grant monies to initiate and sustain their programs. Therefore, monitoring the resources below provides health centers with contract and grant funding opportunities from across the Federal Government.

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) also stipulates a number of provisions to assist health care providers with the adoption of health IT. These include grants, loans, and payment incentives.